...and you like it

One Red Paperclip

This is
one of the
most ingenious methods of self promotion I have ever seen. Not to
mention an interesting way to obtain a house.

Mr. Galloway sent me
this link to a guy who is trying to trade a red paperclip for a house.
Well not directly. He is attempting to negotiate a series of trades. In
each trade, he attempts to get something of more value than the previous
item. In the end, he hopes to trade for a house.

It sort of reminds me of the way you teach people about exponential
growth. Start with a penny on day 1. Double it every day. And at the end
of the month you are a multi-millionaire (unless it is February).

But of course, this is not exponential growth in the true sense of the
word. Really, it is a demonstration in some small part of how wealth is
subjective. The value of an item is really dependent on the value the
people involved in a transaction see it. In a good trade, both parties
are become wealthier because they both received something of more value
to them than the item they gave away. Otherwise they wouldn’t have made
the trade in the first place.

The other lesson may be a demonstration of how much people will give to
be a part of something public. Just like reality television. In some
small way, as his site makes the rounds, these people get their 15
minutes of fame.

In the end, when this guy receives his house, it will be remarkable to
compare that house to the value of the paperclip. But the value of the
publicity and of taking part in this interesting experiment may make the
red paperclip quite valuable to the two women who received it. Of course
this guy will be the biggest winner of all for his ingenuity.